NICHOLLS, Eric Milton (1902-1965)

Eric Nicholls commenced his architectural career in Melbourne in 1916 and five years later he joined the practice of Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin. When the Griffins moved to Castlecrag in 1925, Nicholls was placed in charge of the Melbourne office.

In 1929, Griffin initiated a formal partnership with Nicholls to design industrial buildings in residential neighbourhoods for the Reverbatory Incinerator & Engineering Company and later that year he transferred to Castlecrag with his family. Following Walter Griffin’s departure for India in 1935, Nicholls assumed responsibility for the Greater Sydney Development Association and designed a number of houses in Castlecrag and elsewhere in Willoughby, many of them featuring a sandstone pillar style. The Moriaty House he designed in 1940 for Stan Moriaty at 215 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag, is regarded as his best residential work. He also design a number of commercial and public buildings, including the Albert Chownie Memorial Hall in Willoughby Park and the Castlecrag Community Centre and Library.